Posted on 09/01/2007 2:14:31 PM PDT by radar101
She was simply “protecting my tiny little family,” she insisted, adding that “all I could think of was 9/11.” But yesterday, Leigh Robbins offered an apology to seven Iraqi men who were passengers on a plane scheduled to fly from San Diego to Chicago on Tuesday night. Robbins was also on the plane but was so terrified the men might be terrorists that she demanded to get off, causing a delay that prompted the airline to postpone the flight until the next morning.
The Iraqis, as it turned out, were consultants working with Marines at Camp Pendleton. They say they were humiliated when airport security, reacting to Robbins' concerns, took them aside and questioned them. They have hired a lawyer.
“I know they're upset, and they have every right to be,” said Robbins, 35, a Richmond, Va., homemaker. She said she was traveling with her two young sons that night and decided to err on the side of caution.
“How can you overreact when it's your children?” she said.
American Airlines Flight 590, with 126 passengers on board, had been scheduled to depart Lindbergh Field at 11 p.m. Tuesday. In an interview yesterday, Robbins said she was sitting in the back of the plane with her children, awaiting the departure from the gate, when one of the Iraqis walked by to use the restroom.
She heard him “clunking around” inside the bathroom. When he came out, he had a suspicious look on his face, she said.
“He looked so mean, the way he was looking at everyone,” Robbins said. “It was very frightening, like something out of a movie.”
Robbins gathered up her sons, ages 9 and 4, and demanded to be let off the plane. The crew complied with her request, but the resulting delay meant the plane couldn't take off by Lindbergh Field's 11:30 p.m. curfew. The airline was forced to postpone the departure until 10:15 a.m. the next day.
Meanwhile, airport security officers questioned the seven Iraqis and determined that they posed no threat.
One of the men, David Al Watan, 30, of Dearborn, Mich., said the experience was mortifying because they were singled out for questioning based on their appearance.
He and the other Iraqis are employed by an Alaska-based defense contractor that works with the U.S. military. Watan, who fled Iraq in 1991 and said his mother was killed by Saddam Hussein's regime, wants an apology from American Airlines.
“While they sit in their air conditioning, I was out in the desert helping to save Marines' lives,” Watan said. “I am an American. I love this country. I would die for it.”
Lawrence Garcia, a lawyer for six of the Iraqis, accused the airline of acting improperly by questioning the men.
“They can't just assume someone has a bomb strapped to them just because they are Arabic,” Garcia said.
An American Airlines spokesman didn't return several phone calls requesting comment yesterday.
Robbins hasn't been able to reach the seven Iraqis to apologize personally. She feels terrible about the whole thing, she said.
“I'm very sorry, but I'd do anything to protect my kids,” she said. “If people want to put me down, that's their right.”
We, the citizens, HAVE to be able to voice our suspicions. Especially since we cannot count on TSA and others to protect us, with their heads buried in the sand. This woman, and all of us, should be protected to do this. And those Iraqi buzzards should get on their knees and apologize to HER for their fellow A-rabs/ Muzzies.
imho.
Woman, if a guy gets up to use the restroom, please allow it. Okay?
Arabs, please relax a little and understand that people in the US are nervous right now. Sorry but that’s the way it is. Try to take it in stride and not be so ready to start litigation.
If seven or so guys or Arabic appearance came on my flight and sat next to each other, possibly talking in a foreign language, it would certainly start me to thinking...
Yes, they can. Based on behavior of other Arabs.
I’ve been singled out for being an American Serviceman when I lived in Germany. People had certain expectations due to bad behavior of some of my peers.
I also was singled out as an Air Force NCO deployed with Army SF. Their opinion of Air Force was really bad!
In both situations I made it my responsibility to change the perception with my attitude and behavior. Most of the time I was successful!
Of course I didn’t have the opportunity to sue anybody.
"Muzzies".
One of the Iraqis quoted is named David. He is most likely a Christian.
‘They’re hiring a lawyer’. Fine, that makes everything perfectly clear and I don’t feel sorry for them in the least. Life isn’t fair. Four planes turned into flying bombs and murdering 3000 Americans wasn’t fair, either.
Talk about thin skins! Humiliated? I doubt it. Well, at least, they fully understand a truly American pastime, suing your neighbors when your feeling are hurt.
Because his name is David? Aren’t you doing the same thing?
You wouldn't believe what TSA missed in my carryon luggage. To give them their due, however, they did insist on opening the (checked) rifle case that was serving as a very long shoe box! The leatherman, size 1 double point knitting needles and the jacknife, however, those, they missed!!! Maybe they did see them with xray and decided they were too small? Hmm..
Doing what?
Yes because his name is David the chances that he is a Chaldean/Assyrian Christian from Iraq are higher than the chances for him being a Muslim. Regardless of his Religion he is a good guy in my book. Training our Marines in skills they need for their mission is more than most Iraqis or Americans are doing. Period.
Hear hear. I wonder how the lawyer-remediable humiliation of the fifteen minutes of "questioning" they went through compares to the occasional public admonishment their Marine co-workers may have received from the business end of their drill sergeant during months of basic training.
Clearly, He is a good guy. We know that now. How was the lady supposed to know? She put him in a box, and you did the same. I’m with her. You’ve got to be a moron to just send 7 arabic guys on a plane together and not expect some trouble.
All she asked was to get off. She didn’t ask that they delay the plane or question the men.
This is exactly why I keep telling my Assyrian wife not to speak Assyrian or Arabic to her friends or family on airplanes.
Nevertheless, instead of getting themselves in a snit, they could understand her concern. After all, they are FROM that country. They have lived with those terrorists for a long time. And they saw the damage done to our country, BY THEM, in airplanes. Why wouldn’t they understand her concerns and be magnanimous? But see, THEY want to sue because THEIR feelings are hurt.
I believe whistle-blowers should be protected. This is not a country of sheep, nor has it ever been. Shaming others and fear of being sued will put a damper over the citizens who stand courageously, perhaps incorrectly, and state their concerns. We have to be able to speak out.
The Iraqis who are suing American Airlines et al are disgusting. They should be on their knees giving thanks for ANY involvement this country has in helping them.
You’ve got to be a moron to just send 7 arabic guys on a plane together and not expect some trouble.
Yes that's understandable... especially on flights within the US. I was however on dozens of international flights with more than 7 arabs/muslims on board. You can't avoid it totally.
so, they tell us to be vigilant and voice our suspicions and now she gets villified for voicing the same
She should have surmised he was having himself a wank.
I don’t see what they have to sue about. The pilot let her off, he did not force them to get off, and after a few questions, they were back on track again. The plane couldn’t take off because it was too late at night, not because it was being held.
There have been other occasions where planes have been turned around because of hysterical or otherwise out of control passengers. I saw one once where a woman was standing digging through her carry-on luggage at takeoff and wouldn’t sit down. She kept ignoring the flight attendant’s instructions, and the take off was aborted.
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